Manchester City midfielder Gareth Barry has paid tribute to manager Roberto Mancini after his side's win over Wigan Athletic on Wednesday.
Following an uneventful first half, goals from Mario Balotelli and James Milner gave the Premier League champions a 2-0 victory over the Latics at the DW Stadium.
Mancini was jeered by some fans for replacing Sergio Aguero with defender Aleksander Kolorov while the match was goalless, but Barry believes that the Italian is one of the best tacticians around.
"We found it quite tough going in the first half, we had some stray passes but we ground it out in the second half and that's a great three points," said Barry.
"Credit to Wigan, we had to change things to get past them.
"When the game is going our way the manager is the best tactician there is, that's the world we live in. A lot of teams come to Wigan and don't get results. These are vital points that have come our way."
City host Everton on Saturday.